1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bicycle exercise stand and more particularly to an exercise stand which holds a drive wheel of a bicycle to permit a user to perform pedaling exercise.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bicycles have long been used as indoor training devices. Such training generally requires a stand which lifts the drive wheel (rear wheel) of the bicycle off of the floor and a resistance device which applies a drag force to the driven wheel. Representative prior art stands are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,768,782; 4,969,642 and 5,026,047. These stands each include a frame having at least a pair of upward extending support legs. The legs in turn carry substantially horizontally extending longitudinally aligned support arms having facing sockets on their facing ends. The sockets are arranged to engage the hubs of the bicycle's drive wheel in a manner that lifts the wheel slightly off of the floor or ground. The outer periphery of the drive wheel's tire is also placed in frictional contact with a resistance applying device that is mounted to the frame. With this arrangement, the user may perform a stationary pedaling exercise by riding the bike in a normal manner.
In the stand disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,782, the support arms take the form of opposing threaded bolts. Thus, to mount the bicycle on the stand, the user must lift the rear wheel to a position where the bicycle hubs correspond in height to the height of the support arms. The sockets are then positioned over the hubs by rotating knobs on the outer ends of the bolts. Thus, the user must holds the upper rear part of the bicycle with one hand while at the same time, rotating one of the bolts to properly mount the bicycle. Although knobs on the end of the bolts make them easier to rotate, it requires a fair amount of dexterity to simultaneously hold the bicycle in position and turn the knob. Accordingly, the actions required to set the bicycle on the stand are somewhat difficult.
The stands disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,969,642, and 5,026,047 are quite similar to the stand described above. In effect they simply replace one of the threaded bolts with a hand lever actuated cam and piston arrangement. That is, one of the support arms has a lever mounted thereon. The lever has a cam surface that drives a piston laterally to position the second socket. Mounting a bicycle on the these stands is much like mounting a bicycle on the previously described stand. That is, the user must lift the bicycle with one hand while reaching down to operate the lever with the second hand. Accordingly, the actions required to set a bicycle on these stands is also somewhat difficult.